


The World Is Tumbling Down

by FreyaAtterton



Series: Finally Feels Like Home [7]
Category: Iron Man (Movies), Marvel, Marvel Cinematic Universe, Spider-Man (Tom Holland Movies), Spider-Man - All Media Types, The Avengers (Marvel Movies), The Avengers (Marvel) - All Media Types
Genre: Action, Alternate Universe, Alternate Universe - No Powers, Angst, Angst with a Happy Ending, BAMF Happy Hogan, Drama, Emotional, Emotional Hurt, Emotional Hurt/Comfort, Family, Feels, Gen, Hurt Tony Stark, Hurt/Comfort, Irondad, Nightmares, Peter Parker Feels, Peter Parker Has Nightmares, Peter Parker Needs a Hug, Peter Parker has PTSD, Peter Parker is a Mess, Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder - PTSD, Precious Peter Parker, Protective Happy Hogan, Protective Tony Stark, Tony Stark Acting as Peter Parker's Parental Figure, Tony Stark Has A Heart, Tony Stark Needs a Hug, Tony Stark Whump, Violence, Whump, spiderson
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-02-04
Updated: 2021-02-12
Packaged: 2021-03-16 04:00:41
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 4,678
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29200992
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/FreyaAtterton/pseuds/FreyaAtterton
Summary: A few weeks ago, Peter couldn’t believe his luck when his mentor, Mr. Stark asked if he wanted to go with him to a conference in Los Angeles. To a conference where the smartest people from all over the world gather every year to share their experience and discuss their ideas.Peter thinks even the air is different in this room.  It’s full of incredible ideas and amazing thoughts, he can almost smell it. There are geniuses everywhere. Many of them will give a lecture in the next three days and Peter is looking forward to them, he’s looking forward to absorbing as much knowledge as possible.And what can be even better than listening to the greatest minds? Well, listening to them with Mr. Stark.But suddenly, gunfire and screaming explode at once. Guttural shouts of pain fill the air and panicking people try to escape as fast as they can in the half-lit room. There are men all over yelling and firing guns, and Peter watches frozen as bleeding people hit the floor around him. Pushing himself to his feet, he glances up at the stage in fear, trying to find Mr. Stark but he can't see him anywhere.
Relationships: Happy Hogan & Peter Parker, Happy Hogan & Tony Stark, Peter Parker & Tony Stark
Series: Finally Feels Like Home [7]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1945681
Comments: 3
Kudos: 80





	1. Chapter 1

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Okay, so this is another piece from the No-Powers AU. You can consider this a sequel to my previous work What I Want I Take, What I Don’t I Break, but you don’t have to read that one to understand this story. Of course, I would be very happy if you did, though. Anyway, our babies are not fearless heroes now and maybe I should have remembered that before putting them through hell. Too late now.
> 
> Disclaimer: no, I don’t own Marvel. I wish.

The conference hall is packed. When Peter enters, he feels like he's in heaven. Okay, the flight with a private jet and the limousine that brought them here straight from the airport weren't bad either, but this? This place is packed with the greatest minds on Earth.

A few weeks ago, Peter couldn't believe his luck when his mentor, Mr. Stark asked if he wanted to go with him to a conference in Los Angeles. To a conference where the smartest people from all over the world gather every year to share their experience and discuss their ideas.

Peter thinks even the air is different in this room. It's full of incredible ideas and amazing thoughts, he can almost smell it. He feels star-struck as he takes a look around in the hall and recognizes many great scientists and inventors. There are geniuses everywhere. Many of them will give a lecture in the next three days and Peter is looking forward to them, he's looking forward to absorbing as much knowledge as possible.

And what can be even better than listening to the greatest minds for three days? Well, listening to them with Mr. Stark. His mentor easily navigates in the crowd of geniuses, shakes hands and chats with everyone and never forgets to introduce his intern. He always describes Peter as the smartest kid he has ever met. And Peter's face turns red every single time he hears these words.

"Will you stop blushing, kid? It looks kinda unprofessional," Mr. Stark remarks, patting him on the shoulder after a quick chat with a Nobel Laureate physicist.

The boy's eyes shoot at his mentor and when he can see him smiling, he sighs relieved. He should have known. Mr. Stark loves teasing him. He loves teasing everyone. Peter knows that now, he has spent a lot of time with the man since he started his internship at SI.

Well, the start was disastrous and he thought Mr. Stark didn't like him. No, scratch that, he thought Mr. Stark _hated_ him. He was really rude to him. But turned out, he didn't hate Peter, he just hated the idea of the internship, so it wasn't personal. And he later apologized and offered an awesome internship to Peter. Which he accepted and now he spends every Friday afternoon in Mr. Stark's lab and they work together on satellites, submarines, drones and stuff like that. Yeah, Friday is Peter's favorite day.

Now Mr. Stark is leading them toward the podium. "Happy has reserved a seat for you in the front row, so that you can enjoy the most amazing part of the show from the best spot."

Peter rolls his eyes as he follows the man through the crowd. Yeah, the next speaker is Mr. Stark and he will talk about his latest invention: a satellite that collects solar power in outer space and distributes it to Earth. Peter is certain that this will be the hit of the conference and thanks to Mr. Stark's unique presenting skills, everyone in the world will know about it, not just the scientists. His PA, Miss Potts has made sure that all the big TV channels will cover the presentation and Peter could already spot several cameras in the room. This will be Mr. Stark's big day.

Smiling and waving, the man makes his way toward the stage and they finally arrive at the front row, where a very stern-looking Happy Hogan is waiting for them. He greets Mr. Stark and gives Peter a nod. The boy smiles at him. Happy, Mr. Stark's bodyguard and head of security at SI usually looks annoyed by Peter's presence, but the boy knows it's just a pretense. Happy never seems glad to see him but he is always there to pick up Peter from school on Friday to drive him to SI and always makes sure to bring him food because he knows Mr. Stark would never think of that. Peter knows Happy likes him, he's just not very good at showing it.

"Break a leg," Happy says to his boss.

"I know you will be awesome, Mr. Stark," Peter assures his mentor enthusiastically.

"Of course I will," the man grins smugly and turns to walk up on the stage.

Peter and everyone else in the room take a seat. The hall goes almost completely dark and it's like everyone's holding their breath, impatiently waiting for the presentation to start. Most people here know Mr. Stark, they know his lecture will be extraordinary, they expect something big and surprising.

Well, they're not wrong. Because what happens next is truly surprising. Not in a good way, though.

Suddenly, gunfire and screaming explode at once. Guttural shouts of pain fill the air and panicking people try to escape as fast as they can in the half-lit room. There are men all over yelling and firing guns, and Peter watches frozen as bleeding people hit the floor around him. Pushing himself to his feet, he glances up at the stage in fear, trying to find Mr. Stark but he can't see him anywhere.

"Get on the floor!" Happy orders beside him. "We're going to be fine," he promises, but Peter is not sure if he can believe him.

He wants to obey, though. But he can't, he's unable to move, he just stands there in the middle of the chaos. Out of the corner of his eye, he can see Happy on one knee, taking aim and firing at a man dressed in all black, running to the podium. The guy immediately collapses.

"Tony, watch out!" Happy shouts and when Peter turns his head, he can see another man hurrying to the stage.

Now he can also spot Mr. Stark there, trying to make his way toward them. Peter watches as the menacing figure raises his gun and directs it at his mentor. The boy looks up at Mr. Stark and he looks back at him. Peter briefly wonders if that's the reason behind all this chaos. Is Mr. Stark the main target of the shooting? Are all the other people just collateral damage?

Peter tears his gaze away from him and glances at the armed man, who is watching them interested. The kid can see amusement crossing his face and changing his mind, the guy slides his gun slightly and aims it at him instead.

Peter can't move, can't speak and he's absolutely sure that this is it, he's going to die now.

Then he can see a blur of Mr. Stark's suit coat as he leaps toward him. Peter falls to the floor and when he looks up, all he can see is Happy.

There's still so much noise around them. People are screaming, shots are fired, orders are yelled out.

"Are you hurt?" Happy demands over the commotion.

Peter hesitantly shakes his head.

"Don't move," the bodyguard orders and stands up, aiming his gun again. He fires several times, fighting back people trying to get close to them.

It's slowly getting quieter and the boy doesn't know if it means good or bad. Are people getting out of here or are they dying?

Taking a careful look around, he can see a still body lying close to him and it takes him a minute to recognize the person. Mr. Stark!

He crawls over and finds the man breathing with great labor, a large red stain growing across his white shirt. There's a wound below his shoulder and it looks bad, really bad.

"Mr. Stark!" Peter cries. Unsure of what to do, he takes a look around and when he spots a scarf lying on the floor, he grabs it, balls it up and presses it to the bullet wound. His mentor winces. "I'm sorry," the kid apologizes.

The man looks up at him and gives him a sad smile. He opens his mouth but he seems unable to speak. He takes an unsteady breath.

Then Happy shows up and kneels down beside his boss. "We have to go. Can you stand?"

Mr. Stark shakes his head. "A waste of time," he slurs. "Take the kid."

"But Tony-," Happy protests weakly.

"That's an order, Hap… and last time I checked… I'm your boss, so…" Mr. Stark says as forcefully as he can manage.

The two men stare at each other for a long second.

"Alright," Happy mutters.

But it's not only the bodyguard who hates Mr. Stark's plan.

"No, I won't go!" Peter insists, finally finding his voice.

"Yes, you will," his mentor claims, sounding tired.

"I'm not leaving you!" the boy cries.

Suddenly, Mr. Stark reaches up to Happy's sleeve and clutches it in his hands. "The kid gets out of here. Do you understand? Whatever it takes… he's going to get out of here."

Happy nods and grabs Peter's arm.

"No!" the kid yells again. "Mr. Stark, please!"

"Go," the injured man mutters as Happy drags away Peter, screaming.

They're making their way through the chaos in the room, stumbling over bodies on the floor, Happy firmly leading them toward the exit. Peter has a hard time following him, he keeps stopping, staring at people on the floor.

"Move, kid!" Happy barks. "The sooner I get you to safety, the sooner I can come back for him, you hear me?"

That works. Peter nods and follows the bodyguard. He doesn't know how long it exactly takes until they reach the exit and finally leave that horrible building. Peter finds it odd that the sun is shining brightly above them, because how can it be such a beautiful day out here when it's like hell in the building behind them? He starts taking deep breaths, enjoying the fresh, chilly air.

He can hear Happy talking to someone, a woman behind him. Then she steps to the boy, puts a firm hand on his shoulder and guides him somewhere. "Let's go, sweetie," she says kindly.

Peter feels unable to talk or think, he feels numb, so he lets the woman take him wherever they need to go. They walk only for a minute or two, they cross the street and now they're in another building. The kid looks around briefly. The place is probably a hotel lobby. It is crowded with people, everyone looks frustrated, anxious or shocked. There are people yelling and crying. Others look calm, they walk around in the room and offer water bottles, blankets and some kind words to the others.

The woman leads Peter to a big couch, tells him to sit down and wait here. Then she disappears, leaving the boy alone with his confusion and shock. Folding his head in his arms, he just sits there, hoping that Happy would come back for him soon. More importantly, hoping that Mr. Stark is okay. He remembers the sound of the man's labored breathing as he lay on the floor. Peter closes his eyes, begging any god to keep the man alive.

He doesn't know what happened at the conference, who attacked them and why. He doesn't know how many armed men were in there and if they were professionals or just lucky amateurs. But he's sure it will be over soon. No shooting lasts forever, help always arrives sooner or later and the shooters are always disarmed or killed. It will be over. And people will help Mr. Stark. They will find him, get him out of that hall and help him.

But… will he get help in time? He looked so pale. There was so much blood.

"Hey, son, are you okay?"

Peter looks up and he can see a tall man standing in front of him. He puts a hand on the boy's shoulder and leans down, his eyes obviously searching for any sign of injuries.

Peter nods. "I'm fine."

The man offers him a water bottle. "Here, drink this. What's your name?"

"Peter Parker," the kid replies, taking the bottle. "Is it over?"

He doesn't need to clarify what he means, the man understands. "Yes, it's over."

The boy sighs relieved.

Then the man sits down beside him. "Okay, Peter, are you here alone? Where's your family?"

"I came to the conference with Mr. Tony Stark, I'm his intern. He… he was shot… in there… Do you know where I can find him? Which hospital should I try?" he asks because there's no way that Mr. Stark is not in the hospital. He was alive when Peter left him and he's alive now. There's no other option.

The man beside him gives him a sad smile. Unlike Peter, he can probably imagine another option. But he doesn't say that out loud, he just tells the boy to give him some time and leaves. He soon returns and he doesn't need to say anything, because the look on his face tells Peter everything he needs to know. Everything he doesn't want to know.

"I'm sorry, Peter," the man finally says gently. "Mr. Stark wasn't taken to any of the hospitals."

He looks like he wants to tell more, but a woman strides up to them and drags him away, saying she needs his help. The man gives an apologetic look to Peter before he leaves with the woman.

Peter leans back on the couch and squeezes his eyes shut. This is it. Nothing will ever fix this, nothing will ever stop the pain that he's feeling now. He wants to scream but he reminds himself that he can't do that here, not in a room full of people. Some of them might go through something similar, they might have lost someone close to them, too. Peter remembers the many bodies on the floor that he saw back in that horrible room. So he doesn't scream. He just lets the tears fall.

"Peter?"

His eyes flutter open to see Happy Hogan walking up to him. He quickly wipes his eyes and climbs to his feet.

"Happy!" he cries and throws his arms around the man's neck. He knows any other time, the bodyguard would do whatever he could to avoid a hug, but this is not any other time. The man envelopes him in a tight hug and whispers calming words into his ear.

But how could Peter be calm? When Mr. Stark is…

"He's dead," he sobs, hugging Happy tighter. "I know Mr. Stark's dead."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I will post the second (and last) part soon.
> 
> Thank you for reading and let me know what you think, please.


	2. Chapter 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hello friends! The second part of this short story is already here. I think it will be pretty emotional, but I hope you'll like it.
> 
> Disclaimer: no, I don't own Marvel. I wish.

"What?" Happy asks confused. "What are you talking about, kid? Tony's not dead."

Peter immediately takes a step back to look the bodyguard in the eye. "But he wasn't taken to the hospital and-"

"Of course he wasn't. Tony is a billionaire, he has a private doctor and a mansion in Malibu. He's recovering in his home."

The boy eyes Happy skeptically, trying to figure out if he's joking or not. But the man seems serious. And it actually makes sense. Mr. Stark is so rich that he might even have a private hospital wing in his house. And Peter knows him. He wouldn't want to go to a normal hospital like average people, if it's not necessary.

Once again, Peter lunges to hug Happy, and the man grunts at the impact of his embrace. Not that he would complain. "Come, Tony's waiting for you," he says instead.

Leaving the hotel, Peter gets his first look at the conference building across the street. It is hard to process the sight. People running around everywhere, vehicles all over. People shouting, crying, screaming, bleeding. Broken glass on the ground, glittering in the sunlight. Peter can see blood on some shards and it reminds him of how close they have all been to death. He knows not everyone has got out alive. He saw some dead bodies in there himself and he can still see them whenever he closes his eyes. He remembers the open, lifeless eyes, the motionless bodies. He's just grateful that Mr. Stark is not one of the victims but one of the survivors.

Just like back in the conference hall, the boy lets Happy guide him through the chaos. Soon they reach a black car and the bodyguard practically pushes Peter into the backseat. Probably he also wants to leave this awful place behind as soon as possible.

Once in the safety of the car, Peter lets exhaustion take over him and he closes his eyes. To avoid the haunting memories of the shooting, he tries to focus on another memory, a happy one. Working with Mr. Stark in his lab. His mentor calling him kid, ruffling his hair affectionately and teasing him about his way too good grades but giving him a proud smile at the same time. "He's alive," Peter keeps whispering to himself.

Then Happy calls his name and when he opens his eyes, the man announces that they have arrived. He parks the car in front of a huge, luxurious building in the middle of a beautiful, lush garden. Peter can see a pool beside the house and several sports car parking nearby.

"Wow", he mutters in amazement, climbing out of the car.

"Wait until you see the view from the living room," Happy winks at him.

They walk through the house together and Peter can't stop looking around, taking in all the luxury surrounding them. He has always thought Mr. Stark's penthouse in New York is awesome, but this? This is a whole new level.

Finally, Happy stops in front of a door and knocks. A woman opens the door, she holds a tray in her hand and there are some pills and a glass of water on it. Glancing at the boy, she smiles at him. "You must be Peter. Mr. Stark has been waiting for you."

Peter's stomach swoops with nerves, but he takes a deep breath and enters. There's a big bed in the middle of the room, and Mr. Stark is there, the left side of his chest padded with gauze under his white shirt. His left arm is in a sling and he uses his right to hold up a tablet while discussing something with a woman in a white coat.

"Mr. Stark," the kid whispers stunned.

The man turns to him and there's a smile in his eyes. "Thank you, Helen. I think we're all good now," he tells the woman beside him and hands her the tablet. She nods and leaves the room.

As soon as the door closes behind her, Mr. Stark throws the blanket from himself and sits up in the bed.

"Tony," Happy warns and rushes over to him.

But Mr. Stark waves him off. "Chill, Hap, Helen says I can get up when I feel better and now that Peter is here, I definitely feel better," he says, giving the boy another warm smile.

"You're alive," Peter mutters, eyes still wide.

"Cool, huh?" Mr. Stark grins and slowly walks up to the kid. "But more importantly, you got out without a scratch."

"You're alive," Peter repeats quietly.

His mentor smiles again and pulls him into a hug. "I'm alive, bud, I'm alive," he murmurs, resting his chin on the kid's head. "It's okay now."

Peter wraps his arms around the man, trying to convince himself that it's all good and he can relax now. After some hesitation, he allows himself to melt into the embrace.

* * *

Peter can hear gunshots. Screaming. Yelling. He can see people running for their lives. Some of them collapse to the floor. The others stumble over them while they try to escape. Men dressed in all black chase them, firing guns with no end.

He lies on the floor, hiding under the seats, praying that none of the armed men find him. He squeezes his eyes shut and covers his ears with his hands in a desperate attempt to block out everything. Not to see or hear this massacre. This hell. Trying to pretend that he's not even here. That this is not happening.

But it doesn't work. He might not see anything but he can hear everything. Because this bloodbath is too loud. The gunshots, the cries, the screams… they're all too loud. He just can't not hear it all.

And then there's a thud right in front of him and he opens his eyes before he could stop himself. A body has fallen to the ground, a man in an elegant suit, a gunshot wound painting his shirt red, blood pooling under him. Peter swallows hard. He knows who this man is, he doesn't have to look at his face. He just knows. But again, he can't stop himself and his gaze slowly finds the man's eyes. They are open and… lifeless.

Mr. Stark is dead.

Peter screams.

* * *

The boy shoots up in his bed, sweating and breathing hard, rubbing his eyes as if that could erase what he has just seen. He knows it wasn't real. He knows it was just a nightmare. The most terrible one he has ever had. But it's over now.

He's not there anymore. In that horrible conference room. There's no more blood and death. He got out. And Mr. Stark is not dead, no, he's very much alive. That's what Peter keeps telling himself. He keeps reminding himself of his arrival at the man's mansion. Happy took him to Mr. Stark's room and his mentor was there, alive and glad to see the boy. He knows that.

He takes a look around.

_'See, Peter? You're in a guest room in Mr. Stark's house. That happened. You came here and saw him alive with your own eyes. Him dying in front of you? That did not happen. That wasn't real. But this is,'_ he tells himself, trying to calm down.

He sighs and glances at the time on his phone. It's 2am. He knows he won't be able to go back to sleep. Scratch that, he doesn't want to go back to sleep. He doesn't want to risk another nightmare. He doesn't want to see Mr. Stark's dead body again.

He could watch TV or find a book to read. Or call May. It's not that late back home, maybe she hasn't gone to bed yet. But he talked a lot to his aunt after he had arrived at Mr. Stark's house, May was obviously very upset and she felt bad that she couldn't be there for her nephew. She wanted to come to LA right away and even though Peter would have loved that, he would have loved to wrap his arms around May and hug her really tight, he didn't want to make her go through all that trouble. He will go back home tomorrow morning, so it would have been totally unnecessary to ask her to come here. He can hug her aunt in a few hours anyway. He can wait.

And he won't call her either. May would worry even more and Peter doesn't want that. They'll talk when he gets home.

He lets out another big breath and decides that some fresh air would definitely calm his nerves. It must be a warm night and Mr. Stark has a beautiful terrace with a breathtaking view to the ocean. So the boy throws his blanket off and swings his legs out of bed. He walks out of his room, down the stairs, through the living area and out to the terrace.

And then he just stands there, enjoying the warm breeze on his face and admiring the beautiful, endless ocean and the silver moonlight glistening on the water. It really is a wonderful night. Perfect to help him forget about the earlier horrific events and prove that the world can still be an amazing place.

"Not a bad view, huh?"

Startled by the voice, Peter looks around and spots Mr. Stark sitting not far from him. There's a round glass table with a few chairs around it. The man rests in one of them, legs propped on another one. His left arm is still in a sling, in his right he nurses a glass of amber liquid. He tilts his head to the empty chairs and Peter takes a seat across from him. Then he turns back to the ocean because he wants to enjoy this comforting view as long as possible. That's all he wants. Just sitting here, staring at the ocean and knowing that Mr. Stark is not dead, no, he's not, because he's right here with him.

"Couldn't sleep?" his mentor asks and the boy shrugs. "Can I get you a drink?" the man adds.

That makes Peter turn to him and he frowns. "I'm pretty sure you're not supposed to ask me that."

"Relax, bud," Mr. Stark laughs, sets down his glass and stands up. He strides back into the house and leaves Peter alone.

The boy decides not to worry about it, not as long as the ocean is here for him and he can listen to the waves. It must be great living this close to the water.

A few minutes later, Mr. Stark returns and hands him a hot chocolate. Gratefully taking the mug, Peter inhales the sweet scent, then looks at his mentor surprised.

"What?" the man shrugs, sitting down again. "Even I know that hot chocolate is better for you than scotch. Maybe I should have preferred that, too when I was at your age and not…" he stops himself and takes a big gulp of his drink instead. "Anyway, that's a story for another day. Or probably for never."

"Do you know why those men did it?" Peter suddenly asks, watching the waves again.

"It was some kind of crazy cult, they thought science, progress and innovation were their enemies. Idiotic assholes," Mr. Stark explains bitterly.

Yes, it sounds like they were really stupid. But unfortunately not too stupid to kill nine people and injure twenty-three others. That much Peter knows, he saw the news.

"I'm so sorry, kid," Mr. Stark says. "I'm sorry that you had to go through all this shit. I wish I hadn't brought you with me to this stupid conference."

"It wasn't you fault. You couldn't have known," Peter replies quietly.

"I know. I can't stop blaming myself, though," the man answers. "And I just want you to know that I'm here for you, Pete. Whatever you need."

The boy tears his gaze from the ocean, glances down at the mug in his hands and nods. Then he makes the mistake to close his eyes for a long second and again, he can see dead bodies all around him and blood everywhere. Shit, how is this possible? He's not even sleeping now!

He immediately opens his eyes, but it's too late. His lip trembles and he wipes at his eyes. He doesn't want Mr. Stark to see him fall apart, so he mumbles an apology and he is about to get up and escape back into his room when he can feel a gentle hand on his shoulder. He looks up to see Mr. Stark and wonders when the man came over to him.

Mr. Stark gives him a sad smile and holds out his right hand. Peter immediately sets down his mug, jumps up and falls against the man's chest as a strangled sob escapes him. His hands clutch at Mr. Stark's shirt and he presses his face into the soft fabric. The man wraps his good arm around him and holds him close.

"It's okay, bud, it's gonna be alright. I know how it feels, I know," he whispers into Peter's ear. "I understand, kid, I really do. So trust me when I say it's gonna be okay. We're gonna get through this. Together, alright? It will be hard, but I will be there with you every step of the way. Just promise me one thing, Pete."

The boy pulls back and raises his head to meet the man's gaze. He's surprised to see some tears glistening in his mentor's eyes, too. "Anything," he mutters.

Mr. Stark nods and squeezes Peter's shoulder. "Promise me that you'll be there for me, too."

"Always, Mr. Stark. Always."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I broke them again… But they'll be alright. At least that's what I keep telling myself.
> 
> Thank you for reading!


End file.
